The business mantra "Customer is king" cannot be applied to Thai Airways International, after the recent headline-making flight from Zurich to Bangkok.
The incident involved THAI flight TG971 from Zurich to Bangkok on Oct 11, which was scheduled to depart at 1.30pm. However, the on-duty pilots refused to take off until their off-duty colleagues who were bound to return to Bangkok received first-class seats which happened to be fully booked.
Such a stiff demand means some first-class passengers would have to give up their seats to the so-called "deadhead" pilots.
Initially, none of the first-class passengers agreed to give up their seats, while the rogue pilots defiantly refused to compromise, as business seats were deemed not good enough. Instead, they maintained the stiff demand, citing company regulations that all the pilots have the right to first-class seats.
The delay continued for two and a half hours until a couple finally vacated their first-class seats for the demanding pilot so that the flight, with more than 300 passengers, could depart.
The couple, one of whom was a retired senior government official, later filed a complaint which took off on social media.
The media attention forced THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham to come out and apologise to the affected passengers, and pledge to investigate the case, a reaction that several critics see as not adequate as the incident has caused wide damage to the national flag carrier struggling to stay viable in a highly competitive business.
Even the THAI labour union, which is supposed to protect its staff, criticised the off-duty pilots, admitting the case has severely affected the airline's image.
Mr Sumeth said he has set up a panel to probe the case.
The flag carrier accounced to the the media that the Oct 11 incident happened after a Boeing 777-300 had an engine problem and could not fly from Zurich to Bangkok.
As a result, another flight was sent to take the passengers and pilots of the first plane back.
This resulted in insufficient seats in first class for the pilots and under the company regulations, the airline has to reserve first-class seats for pilots.
In one post, a man who claimed to be a THAI staffer, mentioned conflict between ground officers and the pilots.
It's bad that the TG970 has become a case, and it's worse that the involved pilots, on-duty and deadhead colleagues, have not repented their shameful act that only shows arrogance, poor judgement, a lack of responsibility, and lack of professionalism.
If anything, the incident is tantamount to taking the passengers hostage, without regard for the consequences.
However, the pilots were still showered with support from several of their colleagues who posted messages in social media which merely intensified public anger.
While they insist that the company must stick to the regulations and protect the rights of pilots, they forget the rights of passengers who deserve standard service, to say the least. Such a poor attitude and arrogance are not relevant to the service industry.
When Mr Sumeth took over the presidency of loss-making THAI airways International in September, he vowed to make a turn-around with several plans.
The national flag carrier is one of six financially ailing state firms that required business rehabilitation.
THAI reported losses of 12 billion baht in 2013, 15.6 billion baht in 2014 and 13.1 billion baht in 2015.
The company turned a marginal net profit of 15.1 million baht in 2016, but its financial situation deteriorated again in 2017 when it posted a net loss of 2.1 billion baht.
In the first six months of this year, the company posted a net loss of 381 million baht.
Under Mr Sumeth, the airline's new management team has vowed to get the national flag carrier back in the black by 2022.
The state enterprise has been in the red for several years because of stiff competition as a result of the rising number of airlines, and air routes.
The market share of THAI fell to 27% this year from 37% in the past five years.
Among the rehabilitation plan is the proposed purchase of new aircraft, worth several billions of baht.
Mr Sumeth at least owes the public an explanation about the TG 970 case. Instead, citing "regulations" he has simply "ordered an investigation".
Mr Sumeth must realise that with rogue pilots, his dreams for the flag carrier to make a turnaround may evaporate into thin air.